Falcons preys on Bluebirds

An epic clash between Alexandra’s Bluebirds and Thembisa’s Falcon Super Eagles ended up in favour of the birds of prey.

Feathers flew at the Alexandra Stadium in the Sasol Women’s League match which ended up in a 3-1 victory for the Falcons. The birds of prey immediately set their supremacy with a goal seconds after the first whistle had been blown by the referee to signal the start of the game. They added a second goal in 25th minute of the game.

Soon after the second goal, the Bluebirds began to settle their nerves and knocked the ball around. Bluebirds’ prolific striker, Zingawe Phakathi missed an opportunity to open her team’s account when she ballooned a free kick in the 36th minute following a foul on her teammate just outside the box.In the 45th minute Nyatsama Mnguni could have made it two for Bluebirds after she intercepted a pass between two Falcon players, but her powerful shot hit the cross bar and went over the posts.

On resumption of the second half, the Falcons continued from where they left off with yet another quick goal in the 50th minute. This after one of their strikers dribbled past advancing keeper Sphesihle Madala, who was left sprawled on the ground after a diving attempt for a save.

Mpho Rammala pulled one back for the Bluebirds in the 55th minute when she received a through pass in the box and made no mistake. She hit a beauty of a volley past the Falcon keeper to salvage some pride for her team.

Falcon coach Dan Tshidi said his charges had played like the real defending champions of the Sasol League. “We played well and got a number of chances that we could not convert,” he said.

“I am happy with the win as it ensures we remain on top of the league. I am optimistic we can defend our title come the end of the season.”

Bluebirds’ coach Malvin Khumalo said his girls played a disjointed game mainly because he was trying to blood in youngsters to increase his pool of players for next season.

“We’re tired of fighting relegation and we would like to start competing for honours as well,” Khumalo said. One of the youngsters he has blooded is Nthabiseng August, who had a fairly good game against a top side.

“We take pride in being the first outfit to score against Falcon. This means that we can do wonders if we were better resourced like most of the teams in the league,” Khumalo said.